Dinner and Conversation
by DinoDina
Summary: Every few weeks - Torchwood permitting - Gwen and Tosh meet for dinner and conversation. It's become one of Gwen's favorite times. Fluff.


**Written for avaantares's COE10 on Tumblr for the prompts: Gwen Cooper / purple / family/heart/strength / afternoon**

Gwen shifted the wine bottle and cupcake carrier in her hands. She'd worked hard on the cupcakes, pleased when Rhys's recipe had come through even for her, and it would be a shame to drop them. She didn't want to drop the wine, either, but she was sure that Tosh would have a backup bottle. Luggage moved and doorbell rung, Gwen expected to wait a minute for Tosh to come to the door, knowing how busy she usually was, but was pleasantly surprised when the door opened immediately and she was ushered inside.

Tosh's flat was bright, large, and modern, nothing at all like her own.

Gwen had been here before, but she always gaped around when she walked in, searching for new knickknacks Tosh had acquired or any changes she'd made to the decor. Gwen liked the slightly cluttered flat she shared with Rhys. It was undeniably _theirs_, with clothes and dishes lying around.

Gwen handed over the wine and presented the cupcakes, which Tosh also took.

"You made them?"

"Rhys's recipe," Gwen said modestly, but she was pleased that her labor was recognized.

"It's amazing." Tosh grinned. "Let me take them, you can take off your shoes and coat."

"Let me take something," Gwen insisted, awkward at having nothing to hold as Tosh relieved her of the wine as well.

"No. Come on, dinner's almost ready."

Tosh always cooked dinner for the two of them. Thus, Gwen had taken it upon herself to provide dessert. She was experimenting with Rhys's recipes—and his mum's, although she would never admit to it—and they were working! She'd never had the patience before, but Tosh was worth it.

The cupcakes were new.

Gwen was only slightly nervous about how they'd turn out.

"What's for dinner?" she asked, following Tosh inside to the table.

"Nothing much." Tosh smiled. Gwen didn't believe her for a second, so she gestured for Tosh to continue. "It's just some spaghetti. My grandpa sent me a new sauce to try out."

"Is that the one you told me about two weeks ago?"

Tosh nodded.

"That's great!" Gwen smiled, then sat; she was comfortable in the flat, though it was so much different from hers. "Is he finally getting a hang of video calls?"

"It took a while, but yeah." Tosh laughed. "I know it's easy for me—and you—but it took quite a bit of work. He calls every few days, and I try to have a free moment just to say hi."

"Is that how he passed along the recipe?"

Tosh nodded.

Gwen grinned back at her even more widely. She knew that Tosh didn't get much time with her family, even though most of them were only in London, which was nothing at all like Gwen's relationship with her family. If anything, they were _too_ close. She was glad that Tosh could finally connect with her grandfather, though—she had only good memories of her own grandfather.

A timer beeped from the kitchen.

"I'll go get it," Tosh said, shooing Gwen back into her seat.

Gwen threw her a mock glare but stayed where she was. She'd done the cupcakes, after all, and she understood the need to keep guests sitting in order to do everything herself. Tosh had also taken the wine with her. Gwen thought that at least she'd be able to open it and Tosh seemed to be of the same thought, because she shouted from the kitchen, "I've got it, you made the cupcakes!"

Gwen laughed.

They rarely met at her flat, but she'd behaved exactly the same.

By the time Tosh came back in, Gwen was complacent in her idleness and excited at the new recipe. They shared the recipes, sometimes, too: last week, Tosh had brought in some cakes that Gwen had told her how to make.

Neither of them was a cook by any means but Rhys understood and gave her only the easiest recipes. It was getting to the oven on time that got Gwen rattled; she always got distracted.

Tosh came back soon and Gwen wasted no time in complimenting both the food and Tosh's new dress. Purple and sensible, Gwen thought that it was perfect for her, and said so.

"Any plans soon?" she asked. "Would be a shame to waste it."

"I'm wearing it right now."

Gwen fixed her with a look. Rhys called it condescending, but she just worried. "You sure?"

"Well, my grandfather's birthday is coming up," Tosh agreed. "I'll try to get the day off."

"You know Jack will give it to you."

"But the Rift might not."

Gwen laughed and toasted to that. She knew all too well how the Rift ruined plans. She'd taken to stashing running shoes in her purse whenever she and Rhys went out. Just in case.

There was no winning in Torchwood, but damn it if she wouldn't try.

.oOo.

Gwen experimented with croissants. The recipe had stated an active time of nine hours, but between Torchwood and sleeping, Gwen took a week to complete it.

"Not bad for Torchwood," Tosh said with a laugh as she invited Gwen inside.

"No promises on the taste," Gwen said.

She was a bit nervous. The croissants were a bit wonky, not exactly triangular and with chocolate oozing out of the cracks in the dough, but they'd risen well.

"They look great."

"Thanks."

Gwen followed Tosh inside. They were watching a film. Tosh owned many - as far as Gwen knew, she and Ianto exchanged them every so often - and Gwen got to reap the benefits. She was too tired to properly watch films with Rhys usually. They curled up on the sofa and both fell asleep within the half hour. It was romantic and domestic and Gwen wouldn't change it for anything, but it was nice to finish a film for once.

Tosh had good taste, too.

A quiet afternoon, a film, and many, many croissants... that was exactly what Gwen needed.

Tosh didn't sacrifice anything for the look of her flat. The cushions, now changed to accompany the springtime, were tastefully flowered but no less soft than usual. Perfect for a night in.

"They're a bit… oozy," Gwen warned Tosh as she took a croissant out of the container and prepared to rip it in half.

"But good," Tosh said. She grabbed a napkin. "You made them?"

"Yes." Gwen laughed in relief. "Spent _hours_ trying to roll them out to the right length. I think I folded the dough a hundred times!"

"A _hundred_?"

"Maybe twenty."

"It was worth it," Tosh assured her, reaching for another croissant. "They're great."

Gwen relaxed. Complimenting a single croissant was one thing, but taking a second was the real test. She'd passed. Rhys had been doubtful, for all his support, but Tosh's unquestioning acceptance of Gwen's baking efforts was priceless.

.oOo.

Getting together outside of work had been Tosh's idea. Gwen hated to say that she'd initially been doubtful, but it was true. She and Tosh hadn't been close when Gwen had first come to Torchwood, and Gwen fully took the blame. While Tosh could get lost in her own world, Gwen had been too focused on herself and her other relationships. It hadn't been fair, but she was glad that she'd made up for it now. Tosh had become a valued friend.

Their afternoon get-togethers had started when Jack had been gone. Tosh had shown up at Gwen's flat, knowing that Rhys was away, with a home-cooked meal and words of support and advice. She'd been at Torchwood longer than anyone but Jack, beating Ianto's expertise by a few months.

Gwen, lost and confused in a world she was still getting used to but was forced to command, had welcomed her with open arms.

Now, their friendship was one of her closest.

"Where's Rhys?" Tosh asked. She was sitting on the half of the sofa that was usually Gwen's, drinking the wine that Gwen had served as they waited for take-out.

"Out with Banana Boat."

"Excuse me?"

"Banana Boat." Gwen rolled her eyes. "One of Rhys's uni friends."

"Is he... nice?"

Gwen was surprised at the question but shook her head. She'd learned to tolerate Banana Boat, but he was _not_ the sort of man she'd let near Tosh. "Not if you're looking for a date."

"I'm not. To be honest, I asked just because you're supposed to." She chuckled. "I don't really have a lot of outside friends to practice being social on."

"Not even ones you kept in touch with because it feels like you're supposed to?"

Gwen certainly had plenty of those. Uni friends, even a few childhood friends. They were growing more and more apart as time went on. Despite her question, she was sure that in a few years—if not months—she would have prioritized Torchwood just like everyone else.

"It's hard to keep in touch with people when you're cut off from the whole world." Gwen didn't press; it was easy to connect the dots to Tosh's time in prison. "But I never really had many friends. What about you? In touch with your friends?"

"Less and less nowadays," Gwen admitted. "It just... we don't have anything in common anymore. We meet up, have a few drinks, then I have to run away because an asteroid fell or someone wants to kill the Queen, or... well, you get the idea."

"Yeah, I do." Tosh laughed, then turned serious. "I know Jack says this all the time, but he's bound to have picked up something good after all this time: don't let it drift. I don't know your friends, so I can't fully judge them, but if you must drift away from them, do it on your terms, not Torchwood's."

Gwen felt bad. Once, she'd been excited to spend time with her other friends, but now she was almost happy when Torchwood dragged her away. She liked her quiet nights in with Tosh so much more now. She wouldn't let _this_ friendship drift, even as Tosh changed the subject.

"Did I ever tell you about the space pig?"

"Space pig?"

"Yup. It was about a month after Owen first started. We were still estranged from London, but they had something big going on, so we had to pick up the slack. Some sort of, like I said, space pig—dead, in London. Jack wanted to get Owen up there, but he was too hungover, so I had to go instead."

"But you said it was dead. Did you have to autopsy it?"

Tosh nodded. "I hadn't a clue what I was doing! I wanted to call Owen, but he was 'busy'. And then, this crazy Northern bloke ran in. It was my first time doing a Torchwood assignment on my own and I was terrified."

"What did he do?"

"He asked some questions, looked at the body. Like I said, I didn't know what I was doing. I don't think he was very impressed with my answers. At the very beginning, I thought he was UNIT."

"He wasn't? Who was he?"

"The Doctor."

"_Jack's _Doctor?"

Tosh nodded. "Jack said it happened exactly as it should have, so I think this version of the Doctor didn't know him yet."

Gwen sat back and digested the information. Jack still wasn't forthcoming about his past but they saved every scrap of knowledge they could find. They'd learned plenty already and Gwen had lost most of her urge to press him for more. At the end of the day, Jack would share what needed sharing.

"Owen read my report when I came back," Tosh continued. "It was the worst I've ever written. I think that's when he decided to stop drinking so much."

Gwen frowned; the Owen she knew still drank plenty. "Did he have a change of heart later?"

"No, he just decided to practice in moderation."

They raised their glasses and toasted to Owen. Whatever he was doing—and whoever he was doing it with—Gwen was having much more fun.

.oOo.

"Ice cream?" Tosh called from the kitchen.

"Of course!" Gwen called back. _Of course_. Nothing was right without ice cream.

Tosh liked chocolate ice cream. Unlike Gwen and Rhys, she bought a rich, creamy kind. It was almost a crime to eat.

Gwen graciously accepted the bowl of ice cream, balanced it in her lap, and moved over on the sofa to make room for Tosh. She dug into the ice cream and made herself comfortable. These lazy afternoons—no Torchwood, no Rhys; just her, Tosh, and indulgence—were perfect.


End file.
